North Korean soldiers wave along the Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite to the Chinese border city of Dandong October 7, 2014. (Photo by Jacky Chen/Reuters)
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is surrounded by performers during a celebration marking the nation's 74th anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea, on September 8, 2022. (Photo by Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Photo)
This picture taken in late December 2022 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 2, 2023 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meeting with representatives who participated in the 9th meeting of the Korean Boy Scouts during a commemorative photo session in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA via KNS/AFP Photo)
People attend the New Year's eve gala of youth and students at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, December 31, 2023. (Photo by Jon Chol Jin/AP Photo)
A fan of K-pop idol boy band BTS poses for photographs with cut-out of BTS at a pop-up store selling BTS goods in Seoul, South Korea, December 24, 2019. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)
Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is still continuing in the country, a guard of Gyeongbokgung Palace wears a protective mask with a goblin pattern at the entrance of the palace, which is currently not being opened to the public due to Covid-19 in Seoul, South Korea on June 18, 2020. (Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A man crosses a mud-covered trail carrying his wife on his back at a flooded Han River park in Seoul, South Korea, August 4, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)